【MHM Start-up Project】Progress report from VLF

 PROGRESS REPORT ON THE TAILORING CENTER AT CREATIVE INFANT SCHOOL NAGURU.

March, 2023 

Hello, this is from GBN we would like to inform the progress of this project.

Introduction:

On the 17^th August, 2022, VLF received a donation of 3 tailoring machines from Global Bridge Network, a tailoring center was created at Creative Infant School situated in Naguru Slum Kampala.

Progress Update

The center has been able to train 30 girls on basic tailoring skills over the past 5 months during the school term with the help of a trainer who is also a parent to one of the students at school. This was done to introduce the girls to the tailoring skill, so that they can get familiar with using the machines and materials that are used.  The girls who are also part of the Health club at school can now tailor simple clothes, mend torn clothes etc.

Now that the girls have a basic understanding of the tailoring skills, what’s needed to be done, and how the machine is used, they are now learning how to make reusable pads. They have trainings with the trainer every Friday afternoons and on some evenings, they practice on their own, twice a week.

Parents/guardians’ training.

The women in the community who are parents/guardians to the students started having training over the weekends, this is a way of empowering women so they can gain self-sustainable skills to make them economically independent.

 

Project Achievements

·       30 girls have been trained and gained skill in tailoring

·       10 women have been trained

·       The girls have learnt basic skills in making pads

Project Challenges

·       The machines are few in number to accommodate the raising number of students interested in learning how to make pads

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【MHM Start-up Project】Activity report from VLF

Hello,

A start-up project by interns aiming at providing reusable sanitary pads to girls in Naguru primary school, located in one of the slum areas of Naguru.

crowd-funding：https://readyfor.jp/projects/thankyousupport_uganda

We received a message from girl-students showing their appreciation for receiving the sewing machines we purchased for them with the use of the donation that we got from the crowd-funding (Thanks to all of you).

We received an activity report from Uganda on 14th August talking about the following. 

 ・Naguru slum tour

 ・Meeting the school administration

 ・Meeting the students from MHM club

 ・Giving out the hand-made reusable pads which the interns had produced as part of a volunteer activity when they were in high school

 ・Handing over a sewing machine we purchased with the funds collected from crowd-funding

 Please refer to the activity report we received from our team in Uganda!

MHM Project Report_20220814

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【MHM Start-up Project】Visiting Naguru primary school

 

On the day of 13th August, we started our activity by purchasing sewing machines, tools, clothes, and other materials for pad making.

 

While at the market during the time of purchase, the interns tried using the pedal sewing machine for the first time, but it was more difficult than they had thought since they had to focus on using both feet and at the same time, what they were sewing. We realized that it should take a while to get used to the machines if the users do not have any experience.  

On 16th August, we implemented an outreach at Naguru Creative infant nursery and primary school in Kampala municipality, Naguru parish together with Daisy our counterpart from Visionary Lady Foundation who has been actively working on the MHM issues in one of the slum areas of Naguru by establishing MHM clubs and conducting workshops regarding MHM.

The interns were quite surprised to see the slum situation in Kampala for the first time.

 

On our arrival at school, we had an opportunity to talk with the head master and learned that the school receives many students but most of them cannot afford the necessary materials such as textbooks, pens, and uniforms etc. and also have many other concerns and difficulties at school.

After that the school provided us with a slum tour led by the director and the head teacher who was well acquainted with the area. While moving around, the team met local families who were mostly led by single mothers. One of the mothers we talked to supports five children living on an income of 2000UGX a day which is about 0.5 USD which explained why some children resort to sometime missing classes so as to help their parents/family or even end up just working instead of going to school.  

 

When we came back to school from the slum tour, the students welcomed us with a traditional dance performance and a short play regarding MHM.

Some of the parts within the play, boys were teasing a girl with a blood-stained cloth in class and the girl rushed out of the classroom feeling embarrassed. But after boys receiving an MHM lecture and attaining proper knowledge, they no longer teased girls. Which also showed the importance of involving both boys and girls in MHM issues.

After the performances, we conducted an online exchange program by connecting Ugandan school students with high school students in Japan via ZOOM online. 

 Then interns finally hand-delivered the pads they brought all the way from Japan to the Ugandan girl- students. It was such a happy moment for both the interns for handing over the pads in person and also to the receiving students with plenty of smiles. 

 

After having lunch, the sewing machines we purchased were finally delivered to the school facility. We were happy to see one of the students excited and trying to use the machine for the first time. We had a concern that students may not be able to make pads if they did not have enough experience, but Daisy explained assuring us that they are already having plans of hiring tailors to train the students which somehow made us relieved.  

After installing the sewing machines, interns took a moment to talk and interact with MHM club members who were almost within the same generation.

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【MHM Start-up Project】Crowdfunding campaign

This year 2022, we have had two interns Miyu and Rio who are university students joining our team. When they were high school students, they created a volunteer activity about hand-made sanitary pads production in order to send such pads to the girls who have challenges with menstruation issues in developing countries. Since GBN has been working in the same field, we decided to work with them to support their passion and managed to go to Uganda together for them to also participate and hand their 260 produced pads directly.

It all started on 5th May 2022, when we coordinated for the interns to first have a zoom meeting with some of the girl-students in one of the targeted schools in Naguru primary school in Uganda and found out that some students cannot go to school during their times of menstruation periods due to luck of enough sanitary products available and that they were using old pieces of clothes as a substitution. Daisy, a founder of VLF (Visionary Lady Foundation), and as well our counterpart in Uganda who has been trying to tackle this problem under her organization and has had several workshops to educate school-girls regarding menstrual hygiene management, also reported that due to insufficient funds to buy sewing machines and other materials to make pads, students normally had no option but to use the old pieces of clothes.

Therefore, the interns started a crowd-funding campaign before traveling to Uganda in order to purchase a sewing machine, a button installation, and some other essential materials needed for pad making such as clothes, needles, threads, etc.  Having in mind that, with providing these materials at school, students can then make their own sanitary pads so as to have sanitary products available which will help them to solve the problem of missing classes during their menstruation periods.

This will in the long run also help all women in the community that get a chance to participate in using these materials and have difficulties in going to the public or for work due to menstrual related issues. At the same time, by setting this facility at a public place like at school, it is also a chance for boys to have opportunities to learn about issues related to menstrual hygiene management so that they can also be able to assist their girl-child friends or family members in case they get into the same situations. 

This project is not yet completed but rather just the beginning. We shall first focus at setting up a supporting environment at our target school, Naguru primary school through providing sanitary pads to all girl students. After that we are planning to develop this project to distributing pads to other schools as well as setting a goal of reaching out to over a 1000 people in need in the community. 

We used the approach of providing pad making materials too since we thought and believed it to be the best way to support the local people through not only always providing them with finished products but to also help them learn how to make pads on their own and how to use them properly so that they can share it within the community to continue resolving menstrual related issues by themselves.

The fund we have attained this time would be used mainly for pad making but also for investigation purposes on other matters ie, education related issues, water, sanitation and hygiene facilities at school etc.

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【Intern Activities】Exchange program with Creative Infant School Naguru

 

Hello! I'm Miyu Maki and I got sunburned. Be careful of sunlight.
As we approach the end of July, summer is really getting into full swing.

 Now, I am pleased to report on our May 27th interaction with Ugandan students on Zoom. This exchange session was the very first step in Daisy's project start-up that we are involved in. I hope you'll read this all the way to the end!

 The purpose of the discussion was to start the crowdfunding project, which is still in the process of fundraising, and to first interact with the people involved to see if there is a need for the project.
 Before participating in a Zoom meeting, I was nervous about whether I would be able to communicate well, but I soon was relaxed because the girls were friendly, I was then able to enjoy the discussion and I learnt a lot about the local situation.

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These are pictures of the actual Zoom in progress.

 We asked many questions such as; "Have you ever missed school when you got your period? Why is that?" They answered seriously even the sensitive questions.

 

 By listening to the real voices of the students, we were able to gain a greater sense of responsibility for our activities and a greater awareness of the people involved, and we learned a lot. Until now, I had conducted research on the local situation through newspaper and heard from NPOs such as GBN, but I realized that it is important to recognize the current situation of the target students by looking at their facial expressions.

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This is a picture of my favorite smiling face!

 Since this was also a chance to interact with the local children, I talked to them a little about Japan, and this is what they had to say with their smiling faces. They didn't seem to know much about Japan at all, but they were very curious to ask questions about Japan and about us! The smiles on the girls' faces were really cute, and I am really looking forward to meeting them in person!

 

 When we travel to Uganda to visit schools, we will also introduce Japan to them and interact online with Japanese high school students from the school we graduated. The juniors at our old school have been working very hard to prepare materials to introduce Japan, and this exchange is one of the things we are looking forward to in Uganda! We will do our best to facilitate the exchange time so that it will be an opportunity for both the high school students from our old school and the Ugandan students to receive some positive inspiration!

 

 In this issue, we reported on our plan of the exchange program with Nagle Elementary School. How was it? I am impressed by the time in which we can meet and exchange time together online. I hope that after my trip to Uganda, I will be able to continue this kind of exchange while visiting the area.

Well, I guess my next update will be during or after my trip!
I hope you look forward to my next blog!

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